Product Description

Originally published in 1983,Les Amies de Place Blanche focuses on the transsexual community living around the Place Blanche district of Paris in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The book established Christer Strömholm’s reputation as one of the leading photographers of the twentieth century.

The exquisite new version of the book includes the original essays by Strömholm and publisher Johan Ehrenberg as well as newly commissioned texts by Jacky and Nana, two of the women who feature in many photographs in the book. The introduction is by Hélène Hazera, a leading French journalist, actress, director, and television producer who is also a transsexual.

Born in Stockholm in 1918, Strömholm lived in Paris periodically during the 1950s and 1960s and it was here that he developed his particular style of street photography and made his famous portraits at Place Blanche. Seen as the ‘father’ of Swedish photography, he was the first post-war Scandinavian photographer to achieve international recognition. Also active in Photographic Education, he co-founded the Fotoskolan academy in Stockholm in 1962, where his students included, amongst others, Anders Petersen and the film-maker Bille August.